Minister Stokes needs to hear from you again

posted by WestConnex Action Group | 2318.80sc
October 13, 2015

Last month we wrote to our supporters asking them to call NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes to ask him give communities more time to respond to the massive WestCONnex M4 East environmental impact statement (EIS), which is over 4,800 pages long.

This EIS contains critical information WestCONnex has kept hidden for months: from traffic and pollution data, to the environmental and community destruction it'll cause. Yet Minister Stokes initially gave the public just 45 days to respond – and only extended this to 55 days because WestCONnex left crucial data out.

Last time we asked people to call Minister Stokes to demand that he give communities more time, hundreds of people did so. But so far, he's failed to grant communities more time to respond to this massive document - which is why we're asking for everyone's help again.

Will you please make a quick phone call to Minister Stokes’s office today on (02) 8574 6707 and ask him to give communities more time to respond to the EIS?

If you’ve never called a Minister’s office before – it’s easy! All you need to say is that you’re calling to tell Minister Stokes that 55 days is not enough time for the public to respond to the WestCONnex M4 East EIS, and you want him to extend this time period as a matter of urgency.

If you've already called or emailed his office about this – you can simply say you're upset that Minister Stokes has failed to respond to your concerns, especially when you know so many people have contacted him to demand more time.

Either way - the person you speak to will may try and fob you off by saying they've already extended the period. If so, make it clear you know this only happened because WestCONnex left critical data out – and the public deserves more time to respond to this massive document that will affect thousands of people's lives.

If this EIS is approved, WestCONnex will be allowed to start construction on the M4 East tunnel straight away. This will see more than 200 homes and businesses destroyed, and billions of our taxpayer dollars wasted – all for a toll road that will simply drive people from western Sydney straight into an inner-city traffic jam.

We don’t want this to happen – and we're sure you don’t either.

Please join us in calling Minister Stokes’s office today on (02) 8574 6707 to tell him 55 days is not enough – and that people affected by WestCONnex deserve more time to respond to this EIS.

Thank you for everything you’re doing to stop this destructive tollway. Together we can stop WestCONnex!